Protesters Want Justice for Trayvon (PHOTOS)

The controversial shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin happened thousands of miles away, but it has angered at least a dozen of Santa Monica area residents who protested the killing Friday evening at City Hall.

They held signs that read "Wanted 4 Murder! Zimmerman And His Racist Cop Allies," "We Are All Trayvon," "No Justice/No Peace," and "Shame on Sanford Police."

George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, Fla., told police that he had shot the 17-year-old in self-defense in late February. But Martin was unarmed, only carrying a bag of Skittles and a bottle of ice tea walking back from a convenience store to his father's fianceé's house.

Zimmerman, a native of Northern Virginia, has not been arrested or charged in Martin's death. The Sanford Police Department said at the time of Martin's death that there was not enough evidence to refute Zimmerman's self-defense claim.

Florida has a Stand Your Ground law, which allows residents to use deadly force against an attacker if they think their life is threatened.

Brentwood resident Gary Avrech called Friday's event in Santa Monica a "cry for justice."

"Let Florida and the world know that this crime and the law that protects it will not stand," he said when organizing the event, which also included a vigil.

He said Victoria Gray——was an active participant at the rally, wielding a bullhorn.

Avrech said he wanted to provide a platform for Westsiders to channel their outrage over what he said was the mishandling of Martin's killing by the Sanford Police Department.

"There is mounting anger about Florida's 'Stand Your Ground' Law and how its ambiguity has apparently been used to transform the role of the police into the protectors of killers instead of law abiding citizens," he said.

Martin's death and Zimmerman's actions are being probed by a local grand jury and by the Justice Department.

— The Huffington Post contributed to this report.